Month: February 2021

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  2 Kings 6:15-17

My hubby has issues.  Horses.  He doesn’t understand why anyone would use an unpredictable animal as transportation.  He really can’t comprehend the purpose of riding in circles in an arena either.  I say to him, “Why would anyone put on shoes with wheels attached to the bottom to go in circles in a roller rink?”  Pretty good question, right?  We do some odd things that don’t seem quite right initially.

I have something that’s been churning in my brain for a bit.  It has to do with the day I was teaching my youngest to roller skate.  He was pretty little when he started the roller skating process.  Who am I kidding?  I think “the process” was one time at the roller rink.  He wasn’t really interested.

My supportive hubby was playing the part of encourager as he stood on firm ground in running shoes watching us with a smirk on his face.  I’m not sure, but I think he saw the lack of effort my little one was putting into moving forward.  He was more of a rag doll who got to have a personal chauffeur escort him continuously around the rink.

When it came time for the limbo, I was quite excited!  It certainly wasn’t because I was going to be joining in on the fun; however, it was because I’d be able to give my arm muscles a short rest.  I’d take it!

As the kids lined up to see how low they could go, I thought about how thankful I was for having that time back on the roller rink.  Instead of me being the carefree one, I got to watch my oldest flying past and my youngest hanging on for dear life!  Maybe roller skating wasn’t so odd after all.

Watching the limbo competition and the techniques being used fascinated me.  I noticed three main ways of how the competitors handled themselves.  There was the shuffle over to the limbo bar, close the eyes, and tuck the chin to the chest.  Some were able to coast right through because they tended to be the younger ones who wanted to be like their older siblings. They were short without having a plan of attack and never made it past the first couple rounds.

Another tactic that was implemented was what I call the turtle pose.  These contestants skated forward, then tucked in like a turtle.  They got as small as they could, tucked their head in, and sailed ahead.  There was a few of them left during the final rounds.

The last skater had a whole other way of doing things.  If I remember correctly, there was usually one of them at every limbo competition I could remember.  This skater gracefully built momentum and slid one leg straight out to the side while leaning in the opposite direction.  She kept her eyes wide open to see where she were going so she could adjust her position.  Ladies and gentlemen, this was our winner!

How had I never noticed this before?  Possibly, I wasn’t as “mature” back then and was thinking about the slushie that was waiting for me.  Who knew that going to a skating rink could bring about such revelation?  The limbo held the answers to adult life!  Well, some of them anyway.

Don’t we see people living today in these three categories?  We have those going into situations without a plan of attack.  They’re just shuffling along blindly, waiting to see their outcome.

There are those in the turtle pose who do have a plan but only get so far because their heads are down and don’t have vision of the road ahead.  They’re so wrapped tight that trying something new and having flexibility are nowhere in sight.  These people don’t tend to have longevity.

Then, there are the winners.  How did they win?  They had to stick a leg out.  They had to lean.  The winners had to have their eyes wide open.

Is it possible that we won’t advance to the next level if we don’t stick a leg out?  Perhaps this means that we need to get uncomfortable and put ourselves into new situations.  What about leaning?  Are we the tree that breaks because it won’t bend?  Will we win without our eyes open?  We could be missing the big picture right in front of us like Elisha’s servant did.

I challenge you to think about the way you’ve always done something. Do you keep falling short?  Me too!  If everyone shied away from doing something that didn’t seem quite right initially, what great things would have been missed?

Let’s stop shuffling through life with our eyes closed and come out of that tight ball we’ve been using to just get by.  Let’s ask for our eyes to be open so that we may see!

Today, see the protection surrounding you, see the love offered to you, and know that I’m cheering you on!  You got this.  You’re already on the winning team, so don’t cower, instead see the vision God has been waiting to show you.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Ephesians 4:2

When the weather is not so pretty outside, we’re forced to come up with things to do inside.  For me, this is not a problem.  It seems like there’s always something waiting to be accomplished.  I had been running around getting everything tidy in the house when I came across two pieces of mail that needed shredded.  I was on a roll so straight to the shredder I went.

Since I want to be very clear about the paper monster’s capabilities, I’m looking over the little pictures and words on it right now.  It says I can fit twelve sheets of paper at a time.  Not only that, I have the option of inserting credit cards, CDs, and DVDs into that persnickety, temperamental piece of office equipment.

Junk mail should not be an issue.  I checked.  Hazards are hands, tools, ties, aerosol products, hair, and babies.  Yes, babies.  I had mail.  Mail should be a completely legitimate item to disappear into the cavern of shredded paper.

The way I was looking at things, if I would just drop one envelope after another to be gobbled up, I’d save time and be able to move on to the next item of business.  What better way to accomplish my task quickly and efficiently?  I wasn’t trying to feed it a tool, tie, or spraying it with an aerosol product.  I wasn’t trying to shred my hand, hair, or a child in it.  It was surely under twelve pieces of paper in my hand.  Let’s go!

It started out just fine until it decided my product was not appetizing.  It closed its mouth faster than my son with peas heading in his direction.  It was stuck.  Now, I was in a bind because I couldn’t seem to get it to go down or come back up.  Since I wasn’t allowed to shred my hand, I was also trying to be safe about this little bind I got myself into.

My hubby heard what was going on.  Have you ever seen the Whack-A-Mole game at an arcade?  That was him.  Shoot!  He heard.  That made me more determined to get it fixed before he made his way to where I was.  So, what did I do with all my patience?  Stuck another piece of paper in there.  Guess what… it worked…for about a second.  Now I had more stuck.

This was supposed to be a ten second job, max.  Now, I have my hubby leaning over me saying, “I think it’s stuck.”  You would not believe how much I appreciated his insightful comment.  He informed me that it would need torn apart.  How did this happen?  Ok, maybe that was a teensy bit my fault.  I felt it was good time management not to open the envelope.  Both the shredder and my hubby didn’t agree.  I see their point.

Most of the time, my hubby is pretty patient with me on my less-than-patient situations I find myself in.  A word keeps popping into my mind.  Long-suffering.  In some Bible translations this replaces patience.  As my hubby gave a long-suffering sigh, I childishly responded, “I didn’t ask for your help.  I can do it myself.”  I wasn’t really serious, yet it came out of my mouth.

My shredder debacle was a pretty lighthearted situation where we were able to find humor pretty quickly.  However, that isn’t always the case.  What about with you?

I like to take things that happen in my life and ask myself what lessons I could learn from it.  Also, is there anything that I can find humorous with it.  First lesson:  I’m not three years old, so I shouldn’t act like it.  I don’t need to do everything myself.  Second lesson:  Open the mail before shredding.  A little bit of patience from the beginning could save a whole lot of time in the long run.  Third lesson:  Don’t shred babies.  Come to think of it, maybe that meant not to allow children near the shredder.  Maybe my picture should be there beside the little one!

You know, the dictionary says that long-suffering means having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people.  Is this a strong area of mine?  Do I appreciate it in others?  What about you?

Having called that shredder persnickety, I looked that word up in the dictionary too.  It was an adjective placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details; fussy.  Hmmm

I hope you can learn a lesson or two from my experience.  I’m going to suggest that we read Ephesians 4:2 a couple (or a couple hundred) times today.  Then, maybe again tomorrow.  How about the next day?  You get what I’m saying.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.  Psalm 62:5

When the body stops cooperating with the wants of the owner, it’s time for a break.  My mind was telling me to get up the hill to the car as my legs were saying, “Oh no you don’t.  We’re going on strike!  You haven’t done so much as a squat for a couple of months when you decided to ‘squat’ while playing in a creek for a few hours?  Ridiculous!  What were you thinking?  I’ll tell you what you were thinking.  Nothing, nada, zero, zilch.  Now, after that abuse, you expect us to get you up that hill, no, that mountain?”

Yes, these are the conversations that might take place in my head.  Please don’t send this to be analyzed.  Those legs of mine were being quite dramatic.  It was a slight incline and a very short distance to our vehicle.  They sure were complaining though.  I told the guys to go ahead of me and grab the food out of the back.  I was right behind them.

This gave me a couple seconds to continue that conversation that had been happening with my legs.  It was necessary for me to give them a good talking to.  After looking towards the vehicle with a bit of despair, I told them that there wasn’t a chance that we were going to continue standing there looking out of shape.  I figured even if I had to hobble slowly up the hill, I was getting my lunch!  Those legs were going to get a move on.

Apparently, I was a teensy bit out of shape…maybe.  Anyhow, once I reached the vehicle, I had a decision to make.  I could go back to the cold, dark creek or bask in the beautiful beams of the sun while being washed in warmth.  Usually, I’d want the adventure of heading back with the family.  That day, I gave into the whining legs and comfy vehicle.

The sun was shining straight onto my seat and it was a perfect December day in North Carolina.  I had a drink, snacks, and pen and paper with my bare feet poking out the window.  It was so incredibly peaceful, and the absolute happiness bubbling out of me was huge.  It was one of those times that it didn’t manifest in energy, but contentment.

I was breathing in the fresh air, watching the trees directly in front of me, and just loving life.  The quiet was nice and refreshing!  There I was with God wrapping me in a blanket of love.  Maybe I was escaping life for a while, but it sure did feel wonderful.

Sitting there in complete relaxation I realized I had a companion with me in my bliss.  There was a dog who had joined me.  We had an understanding.  We didn’t talk, we didn’t touch, we just shared space.  Me in the car.  The dog right beside me on the ground.

We shared that contentment together.  There was a bond that took place that transcended words.  We were just a human and a dog who were enjoying being close to one another without needing the “filler” of words and touch.  That dog would actually back off when someone would come talk to me and my focus turned to that person.  Very rarely would he be coaxed into a pet from someone.  He enjoyed that silence with me.

There’s a Spanish Proverb that says to open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than the silence.  After feeling how that dog was choosing to be there because he simply wanted to share his space, silence was even more beautiful.  He wasn’t looking for anything else.  That dog wasn’t there for what I could give him.  He radiated such peace without treats, chatter, and petting.

I was feeling so very special and privileged to have this calm company with me as my legs relaxed and I enjoyed the time reclining there until that dog went back to his owner.  It was the best feeling!

It got me thinking that maybe I had found something God would want me to do with Him way more often than I do.  Prayer and listening in great expectation for words from Him is so important in communicating with God, but maybe, just maybe, wanting to be near Him without looking for anything except His presence would be quite a gift we should be offering more often.

Do I do that enough?  How often am I just inviting God into my space just because of who He is?  There are so many times that we go through something difficult and rely on God’s helping hand.  That’s great; we can trust Him!  Now, think about how beautiful it is to get quiet and simply share our space and be in contentment and peace with absolute joy simply because He’s there.

I challenge you to let all your needs and expectations go today and welcome God into your space.  Oh, what rest that would be, wrapped in God’s blanket of love!